A New Day
by LilyGhost
Summary: The day finally comes when Stephanie makes a decision and leaves her relationship with Joe behind and goes after a new kind of life with Ranger.


**This is based on the song "F**king Perfect" by P!nk. I pretty much wrote this short, slightly fluffy story just to get the song out of my head. All familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine.**

"Joe, we have to stop this," I told Morelli.

"We have to stop arguing? I agree."

"No, Joe. I'm talking about us needing to end this ... this ... whatever the hell _this_ is."

"Sure, Steph," Joe said, in the tone that always provokes my inner bitch. "Whatever you say. You pull this crap every other week now. You leave, then ignore me for a few days, but when I finally do show up at your place, we make up. Why don't we just skip over the separation and get right to the making up part."

I can see Joe's lips moving, and I know he's talking to me, but I couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Cupcake?" Morelli asked me.

"Because it just occurred to me that according to you - and the Burg - you're always the fucking perfect one and I'm just the screw up you're screwing. We should do each other a favor and stop wasting our lives with all this on and off again shit we've been doing. I'll find someone who's more like me, and you can finally settle down with a person you don't have so many problems with."

"You mean you'll go straight to Ranger?" Joe asked me. "You'd be crazy to end things with _me _because you think you can change _him_."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked, lifting my eyebrows at him. "If it's 'so crazy', why do _you _keep trying to change _me _all the time?"

Joe was quiet, probably not having an explanation for the double standard. Maybe it hasn't been me fucking things up all along. Joe is just as guilty as I am when it comes to wanting a partner he can't have. Except I want Ranger, while Joe wants my body with someone else's brain occupying it.

"I don't want to change you, Cupcake. I just think you'll see that I'm right ..."

"Right about what?" I asked Joe, trying not to let my temper take over the conversation. "You're right about me being incompetent? That I can't make a good decision to save my life ... literally? That I can't figure out what I want? Well ... guess what, Joe? You're wrong about all of that. I'm still alive, I have a ninety-percent capture rate - along with a few Rangeman cases under my belt - and I know without a doubt that I don't want my life to be measured by how many kids I have and how many zeros my husband brings home."

I took a deep breath and willed myself not to let Joe get to me. It only partially worked.

"I've lived half my life under my mother's thumb," I told Joe, "and now that I'm out from underneath it, I'm not signing the rest of my life away to a man who doesn't give a shit about what I want to do with it."

Okay, so my voice might've been a little louder towards the end of that, but I wasn't screaming, crying, or kissing Joe, so I'm damn proud of myself. And now I'm positive that I can get out of here without doing any of them, too. I really am fed up with being talked down to, misunderstood, belittled, and treated like crap, because people don't get me.

"Steph, you don't know what you're saying," Joe told me, adding more gas to the fire. "I know you can do your job, whether you can do it without ending up hurt or covered in dog shit is another matter. But I don't think you can count your contribution to the cases Ranger has dragged you into. We all know he'll say and do anything to get you into his bed ..."

"That's not true, Joe, and you fucking well know it," I bit out. "_You've_ even asked for my help a few times yourself, but you conveniently forget all about that when you're trying to get me to agree with how you want things done. This time I'm not agreeing with anything you say unless you feel like calling yourself a jackass."

"That ain't happening, Cupcake. And just like you're underestimating _my _feelings for you, you've _over_estimated Ranger's. You're a fun distraction to him, nothing more. Once you're officially single, he'll back way the fuck off and you'll be alone. You may want to think about that before we finish this conversation."

"Why are you being such a jerk about this?" I asked him. "You're free now. Free of my attitude, my stalkers, and my crazy life. You should be celebrating, not glaring at me."

"Cupcake, I don't want to 'be free' of you."

"Too late. You should've thought about that before you chose to patronize me instead of really listening to what I was trying to tell you. Not to mention, attacking what Ranger feels for me and also the entire way I live my life. What we've allowed our relationship to turn into isn't all my fault, you know. You've played a pretty big part in it ending."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Nothing is ever _your _fault, Cupcake, is it?"

"Bye, Joe," was all I said.

I scratched Bob's head on my way out the door. I didn't bother trying to defend myself or my actions. I'm through explaining my reasoning to Joe ... to _everyone_.

I got into my POS car, drove my ass back to my apartment, and went straight to my bedroom. I gave myself twenty four hours to sort through what went wrong with Morelli, and list everything I do want in a new relationship. Marriage? Possibly, but only somewhere _waaaay _down the line. Kids? I don't think so. A man who respects me? Definitely. I wiped my eyes as I remembered some of the better times I've had with Joe, then I put him and our years together out of my mind. I had plans to make.

"Ranger?" I said into the phone, twenty five hours later.

"Yeah, Babe?"

"Umm ... are you busy tomorrow night?"

"Do you need me for something?" Ranger asked.

"You could say that," I said.

"Then no, I don't have anything that can't be rescheduled. What do you want with me?"

Hmm, loaded question. I want _a lot _from Ranger. I'll have to answer this carefully. Ranger is as gun-shy as I am when it comes to relationships, or what could be interpreted as one.

"I wanted to know if you'd have dinner with me," I got out without puking.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Steph?" Ranger said to me.

"Uhh, yeah. I guess I am."

"What time are you picking me up?" Ranger asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Are you laughing at me?" I asked him, a warning clear in my tone.

Ranger sobered immediately, realizing that I wasn't in a joking mood about this.

"Stephanie, you may amuse me, but I would never laugh at you."

I blew out a breath. After yesterday, I really needed to hear that.

"So, tomorrow night ...?" I said.

"I'll pick you up at eight," Ranger told me.

"But_ I _asked_ you _out," I told him, wondering when I lost control of my own plan.

"And I'm saying yes, but I'll take over from here."

"Ranger, I'm capable of showing you a good time ..."

"I know exactly how good of a time, too, Babe."

Damn him. Now my face and parts below it were heating up.

"That's not what I meant," I told him.

"I'm kidding, Steph. About that, anyway. Expect me at your apartment at eight. Be ready."

And Ranger disconnected.

I hit the button to end the call on my phone and then sat staring at it. I took the first step. I made an actual, honest-to-goodness, date with Batman. Now what?

First order of business is a trip to Quaker Bridge to find something that will keep Ranger distracted so maybe he won't shut me down as soon as he gets the gist of what I want. Ranger's body is a given, but his heart and my own place in his life are the two things I'm really after. If Ranger can't give those to me ... well ...

Oh, shut up, Stephanie, I told myself. You're not going to let those thoughts enter your head and sabotage this before you even get started. I may not be Joe's idea of the perfect girlfriend, but I _know _I'm Ranger's if he'd only let me in.

In a matter of minutes after I got to Macy's, I found the exact type of dress I'd been hoping for. Even Mary Lou agreed that I'd score wearing it.

"I can't believe you're brave enough to wear _that _on a date with _Ranger_," Mary Lou said to me, her eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. "I don't think the dress looks bad on me."

Sure, it was a little tight around the boob area, and it may have been a tad shorter than what I'd normally wear, but the black, thin-strapped dress with flirty skirt was molded to my body in a sexy - and hopefully Ranger-approved - way.

"I meant just the opposite, Steph. Ranger'll be tripping over his own tongue when he sees you in that dress. And he'll pounce on you a second later ... which would totally scare the crap out of me. That's a whole freakin' lot of man poured into that Rangeman uniform."

"Believe me, " I said to her, "I know."

And I hope to have every inch of that man in every way I can get him.

"Are you sure about this, Steph?" Mary Lou asked. "I mean, Joe is a catch by Burg standards, but dumping him to go after a man like Ranger ...?"

"Mare, I let Joe go not because of Ranger," I told her, "but for _me_. I'm sick and tired of always being criticized for not thinking the same way he does. It was time to move on. And I'd like everyone to see that what I feel for Ranger is strong enough to survive on its own without the Morelli-barrier between us."

"Well, considering Ranger agreed to a date with you," Mary Lou said, "I say it will be."

Yeah, except Ranger doesn't know that the angry Italian barricade has been recently lifted. Whatever happens, though, I'll cut out my own tongue before I admit Joe was right about what's between Ranger and I.

I spent over an hour getting ready for my date with Ranger. I have a feeling my night will end at Rangeman if things go the way I hope, but I still prepared for any outcome. I currently have in my apartment two kinds of Tastykakes, potato chips, and a brand new bottle of wine waiting to be popped open if I wound up back here alone, and every inch of my body is ready for a very thorough body search from Ranger in case I stay with him tonight.

It seems a little slutty to be thinking about sleeping with a man after just breaking things off with a different guy, but Joe and I have been over for a lot longer than that final fight. I've also loved Ranger almost as long as I've loved Joe so - slutty or not - I'm going to make things right finally.

Ranger picked my locks at exactly 7:59 and I held my breath as the door swung open. My fingertips clutched the edge of the kitchen counter as I felt his brown eyes slide over my body. My blue ones returned the favor. Ranger looked mouth-watering ... in black dress pants and a buttoned-down black shirt with the collar left undone. I wanted to spend a few hours exploring the exposed skin there, but I figure we should talk first.

"Lookin' good, Steph," Ranger said, crossing the room to me.

"You like the dress?" I asked him, looking down at my outfit.

"Yes. I'd like it even more if it was lying on my bedroom floor right now."

Hmm, maybe Ranger had picked up on how I'd like the night to go.

I gave Ranger a small shrug. "Could happen," I told him.

I was rewarded for those words by seeing Ranger's big body go still in response to what I was hinting at. Before Ranger could ask outright why I was toying with him, I quickly scooped up my bag and headed to the door. It was kind of fun to give Ranger something to think about for a change instead of me trying to read between his lines.

Ranger was right on my heels, taking my key from me and locking the door behind him. He was looking me over not only with lust now, but speculation, too. Looks like both of us can be mysterious when we want to be. Ranger didn't know exactly what my game was tonight, and I didn't fill him in at all on the ride down to the lobby. Ranger will know soon enough that I'm done with games unless they're the mutual, fun kind.

Ranger was silent as we walked out to his car. He opened my door and stood watching me as I buckled up. Ranger started the engine, but before we pulled out of my lot, he turned to me.

"Restaurant or Rangeman? Your choice, Babe."

"Restaurant," I told him. "Then Rangeman if we come to some sort of understanding over dinner."

Ranger clearly hadn't been expecting that answer.

"Where does Morelli fit into this?" He asked me.

"That's what I was going to talk to you about before I decide where I'm sleeping tonight."

"This sounds serious," Ranger said, leaving the brick bane of my existence behind us.

"It is," I told Ranger. "Does that make you want to turn around?"

"No."

That's a good sign, isn't it?

I wasn't really surprised when Ranger drove to a place that would take me three capture checks to even get an appetizer in.

"Uhh, Ranger ..."

"Don't start, Babe. This is where I wanted to take you, and this is where we're eating tonight. It's my treat so I get to choose."

I find take-charge Ranger kind of sexy, _sometimes_, and I didn't really want to spoil the night, so I didn't argue with him. I also didn't move away when Ranger put his hand low on my hip as we left the car and headed inside. Ranger chose our wine and waited for our orders to be placed before he put his forearms on the table and leaned forward. Even though this was my idea, being the object of Ranger's scrutiny is a little unnerving.

"Time to spill, Babe," Ranger said to me.

I let out an uneasy sigh. "I'm not sure where to start," I told him.

"Let's start with Morelli."

"I broke up with Joe, gave him every reason I'd figured out why we're now hurting each other more than loving each other ..."

"And?" Ranger asked, seeming even more intense ... if that was possible.

"And Joe ignored me, dismissed me, and it felt like he was actually making fun of me before I left."

"What reasons did you give him?"

"The biggest one is that Joe and I need _very _different things in life," I told Ranger. "I tried to keep it short so Morelli's attention didn't drift."

"Seems to me that was a conversation he'd want to pay attention to."

"You'd think, but my opinions were never important to Joe. And I told him that I wasn't putting up with it anymore." I took a breath and got to the real reason I called Ranger. "It probably makes no sense to either of you, why I've done a 180 on you both, but I figure if I've been listening to that annoying little voice that's always telling me how stupid, immature, and messed up I am, then maybe I should give that other voice equal time and go after what I know deep down is right for me. _Who _is right for me ..."

"And that's me?" Ranger asked, not taking his eyes off my face.

"That's you," I told him. "If you want it to be, but I don't mean as a bed-buddy or a time-killer. I'm not asking for marriage or babies, just a chance to really get to know you, with a side-order of amazing sex with each other only."

"For this to happen between us, Babe, Morelli has to be completely gone. I don't share what's mine, and if you 'want to be'," Ranger said, repeating my words, "then there will be no more sharing _anything _of yours with him."

"That won't be an issue," I said to Ranger. "I'm not interested in Joe that way anymore, and Morelli's going to be pissed when he finds out that I won't be running back to him, and that you don't want me to. Truth is, I've doubted and second-guessed myself for as long as I can remember, but not about you and me if we both want a relationship bad enough. I'm as determined to make this work as you are about keeping me safe."

"I'm willing if you are, Babe. I've wanted you from day one, but I wasn't going to be just a distraction to you."

I froze as Joe's words came back to me. Joe thinks I'm only a distraction for Ranger, and Ranger apparently thought he was one to me.

"Ranger, you've always been more than that, I just didn't know how to tell you. But if you can say that you love me without joking around or adding a condition, then I should be able to do the same."

"Are you saying that you love me?" Ranger asked, after the waitress set our plates down and got the hell away from our table.

I'm pretty sure everyone in the place can feel the tension, sexual and otherwise, coming from our table.

"Yes," I told Ranger. "And I don't care who knows it, especially you. I want to be happy more than I want to please everyone around me."

"I love you, too, Babe," Ranger told me.

"And ...?"

"That's it. I can't say that a ring is ever going to be an option for me, but I want what you're offering."

I blinked at Ranger, not believing him or my ears.

"_Seriously? _A relationship with you is that easy?"

"You're the one who was making things complicated, Steph. You knew I wanted and loved you, but you hadn't decided what you needed from me yet, and I'd never choose to be a stand-in for Morelli."

I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Ranger, if anything, Joe was a stand-in for _you_."

"It's about time you realized it, Babe."

"It took me a little while, but I figured out what my life was missing. A plan, a guy who respects and also seems to genuinely like me, and a thick skin. And I know _you're _the only guy who can help me with all three."

"How so?" Ranger asked, picking up my hand and brushing the backs of my fingers with his thumb.

"You can help me turn bounty hunting into an actual career, you'll also remind me often to tell everyone to bite me for not turning into someone I'd hate being. As for the other one ... you've been the one person who has stood behind me - and have stood up for me - in every possible situation, and I want the chance to show you how much I appreciate you believing in me."

"You've proven your loyalty to everyone you care about, Babe, many times. You don't need to do anything else. I'm not like Morelli, there are no hoops to jump through in order to be with me."

I smiled at him, relieved that Ranger and I seem to be thinking along the same lines.

"Good," I said, "because hoop-jumping isn't something I excel at."

"That's one thing I won't be teaching you, Steph."

"What _will _you teach me then?" I asked Ranger, trying out a little flirting.

Ranger signaled the waitress.

"We'll take this to go," he told her, before turning his dark gaze in my direction. "Your first lesson will be ... don't provoke a dangerous man."

"Are we talking skips here?" I asked, my eyebrows lifting.

"No. I'm talking about me. And if we don't get out of here soon, there's a good chance I'll be having _you _for a meal on this table instead of what we ordered."

I was already getting to my feet. "As adventurous as that sounds, I'd rather it be a _private _table ... like in your apartment."

"You're reading my mind, Steph."

I grabbed the food while Ranger whipped out a credit card. The second we made it outside, Ranger's mouth was covering mine. I was digging the fingers of my free hand into his back when Ranger lifted his head.

"You ready for this, Babe?"

I didn't know if Ranger meant a sleepless night due to non-stop sex, or a full-on relationship with him, but either way, my answer's the same.

"Lead the way, Batman."


End file.
